Chapter 3 - Delhi at Dawn

I woke often during the night, uncomfortable in the lumpy bed. Finally, with a hint of dawn in the piece of sky visible through the window, I decided to leave the bed and let my partner sleep better rather than disturb her with my tossing and turning. I put a chair beside the window and stared into the darkness. I was surprised to see that I wasn’t the only one awake. Two young boys came into view dragging large bags partially filled with what appeared to be garbage. They approached the long mound of garbage that we passed on entering the parking lot the evening before. A group of three others were on the low hill, older males. I watched as they went through the bags and separated the contents into various piles. With this done, the two younger boys took their empty bags and headed back into the darkness.

One other male was on the long, low mound of garbage sitting beside a small fire that was obviously meant for warmth and not about celebrating the Lohri festival. I continued watching almost feeling like a voyeur. These people belonged to the night, to a different world. These were people who were once called the untouchables, the lowest caste in India. As the dawn began to present a clearer picture, I got out my camera to record what I saw. Unbelievably, these people actually seemed happy as a few of them began to play. I could see them laugh as they chased each other.

Soon, they formed two groups, one group of three huddles around a small fire made from the rubbish, the other group with five were standing at a distance, huddled in a tight group. I watched as the largest of the males began to give themselves an injection of what I assumed was drugs with the three younger and smaller males raptly attentive to the mysteries of getting high. Though I am in a strange country, there is a sameness in how the desperate deal with unenviable lives.
The dawn had at last provided enough light for me to leave the room and begin wandering outside of the hotel. No, I didn’t feel fear. Being a small man who dresses rather nondescriptly, I am easily overlooked. I know how to fade into the shadows, to be in the fringes. I made sure to make no noise so as to not wake my partner. I slipped out the hotel doorway passed the sleeping security guard who was wrapped in a wool blanket and was seated in a white plastic garden chair, the same type of garden chair as I have at home.

I slowly made my way down a narrow lane taking photos of the area. Several buildings were being repaired, some weren’t. Piles of building materials and piles of construction refuse made an obstacle course. From between two of the piles, a rat appeared. He didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry as he checked out bits of garbage among the broken bricks. I reached the first corner and saw across a small parking lot, a McDonalds fast food restaurant. On one side of the restaurant was a Dominos Pizza outlet and on the other side was a bank outlet. In front, a small Brinks truck was stopped and two armed guards were keeping watch while the ATM was being restocked with money.

One store on the opposite side was in the process of opening for the day though it was still very early. A young woman in traditional clothing, a sari, was outside the shop sweeping the small piece of sidewalk. Traffic had begun to pick up on the street outside of the little shopping area. As I reached the roadway, I came across a small tent that was home to a small family that had just begun to serve a hot beverage to customers who were waiting on the sidewalk.

Walking along the line of shops which included a number of Internet cafes and ATM bank outlets, I was presented with a scene where a barber was giving a customer a shave. The barber’s shop consisted of a chair on the sidewalk with a mirror hung from a nail on a power pole. As I took a photo of the scene, the barber looked at me. I realised that I wasn’t invisible. And, being seen, I was accepted. He was as curious as I was. Our eyes met and that was enough.

Fading back into the edges, I decided to head back to the hotel and get ready for the planned tour of Delhi.